"Would you rather" tournament pick'em: The Championship (post 223)

Matt brought up the article from hoopshype (http://nbadraft.net/value-picks-2012-nba-draft) that highlighted how GM's can be focused on "their guy" and miss out on great talent later in the draft. I would call this the sexy pick epidemic. GM's, scouts and many fans fall for a name, a school program and a great tourny run.

This gave me an idea (I know, I am bored), what if we took out the name and just focus on the scouting reports and/or stats to make our picks. I will copy and paste some of the scouting reports, talent tables, player comparisons, etc. without placing actual draft player's names and have you answer, "would you rather" have player A or player B. I realize that you could search the players and it wouldn't take too much work to figure out who the report is talking about (i.e. - Matt has pretty much told us how Lamb eats his steak by now), but as I say to my students, that would take the fun out of it.

It is unlikely that we will get one of the first 3 picks and based on these four guys that means that Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Bradley Beal would be off the table. After that there seems to be some shuffling among the picks. I will put together a 16 player (ones that I have seen in mock drafts and Raps Rep forum discussions) tournament pick'em and see who comes out on top. After each round I will let everyone know who moved on and who was cut.

As this is the first time I am trying this idea, I am interested to hear ideas that would make it better next time. As well, this could probably be put in the Draft thread; however, I thought it would be harder to organize responses.

Round 1 - Match 1

Would you rather have...

Player A -
Does Well:
- True seven footer, tremendous length with a 7’ plus wing span, physicality and post presence with his size
- Springy athlete and high jumper, great end-to-end speed and quickness, uncanny mobility for a post player with his size
- Impressive post play, refined back to basket play and ‘go to’ jump hook, face up threat from the perimeter, good post awareness and play making ability, developing into a weapon in the paint
- Shooting range out to 19’, reliable shooting touch from midrange, finesse touch around the basket and can use both hands, strong finisher at the basket who loves to dunk
- Solid rebounder with combination of size, length, athleticism and motor, does a nice job on box outs
- Shot changer in the paint, imposing length and athleticism to get up and erase attempts around the basket, good anticipation for a shot blocker

Must Improve:
- Needs to add about 10 lb.s to fill out his slender frame, gets overpowered in the paint and pushed around, will get bullied by stronger players until he builds muscle
- Awful post defender, gives up great positioning to opposition in the pain, unable to body up and hold his ground in the post
- Few shooting flaws and technicalities, needs to hold follow through on his release, square up his body to basket, elbow bowed out right, shooting in rhythm and not rush looks

Player B -
Does Well:
- NBA body, has outstanding length (7’+ wingspan), chiseled frame with muscle and strength, broad shoulders, solid post size at 6’9”, 240 lb.s
- Super productive rebounder, great use of length, strength, good hands and an active motor (6.2 reb. per game as sophomore in only 14.2 min.)
- Impressive face up play, crisp jumper with range out to NCAA 3-point range, has fundamental shooting mechanics to extend further to NBA range, pick and pop type player
- NBA athleticism, great mobility, end-to-end quickness, solid leaping ability, factor in transition
- Comfortable putting the ball on the floor in isolation and aggressive attacking the basket, nice touch in the paint, solid finisher at the rim, ferocious dunker
- Playmaking passer out of the post, excellent court vision, unselfish post player who creates opportunities out of post doubles and driving the lane

Must Improve:
- Back to basket play, needs to refine post moves and footwork, tendency to shuffle feet after picking up dribble in paint, heavily favors operating out of face up away from the basket
- Unimpressive post defender, doesn’t play very physical or body up well despite magnificent build, lackadaisical shot contester and relatively unimposing shot blocker, slow to rotate and lazy help defender
- Struggles when faced with post double team, tendency to over dribble leading to a bad pass or forced shot, needs to be more decisive sooner

Please do not post your guesses on who these players are, as removing names from these comparisons is the intrigue of the game. I will give 24 hours for responses and announce the winner and put the next players up.

“Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.”
― John Wooden

Seemed like your idea was to second guess the pundits by picking the best players based on these scouting reports, not pick the best fit for TO. Having said that, it makes no difference in my picking strategy because I say pick the best player available, and sort it out later with trades, whatever.

Great to see the participation! I'm actually super excited to run this thing through, even with some of the glaring limitations (i.e. - biased scouting reports, incomplete player profiles, etc.) to this system. I really like seeing the reasoning and I agree that some will be very surprised by the actual names. Just a reminder to keep your guesses private, as the whole point is to focus on the skills/attributes and not a name.

Will reveal around 11pm my time (mountain time) each night. This first match is a tight one, so get in your vote before time is up.